1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to die quench presses and more particularly to die quench presses for hardening gears and other large generally circular parts.
2. Prior Art
In prior art quench presses, the upper dies or platens have been capable of movement in only the vertical direction. In such designs the upper platen has contained an expander cylinder for motivating a plurality of segments radially inwardly and outwardly to contact the part which is to be quenched. With these prior art quench presses it is necessary to load the parts being processed in between the upper and lower die platens either directly or by a conveyor table built into the press. Thus in the prior art designs the lower die holder must be made either swingable or slidable when the press is to be used for large heavy parts. This has created a problem since the lower die holder must have a precise location if precision quenching results are to be obtained. Yet, the swinging or sliding of the lower die holder can easily lead to an inconsistent location of the parts to be quenched. A still further disadvantage of the prior art designs is that the expander cylinder and segmented expander die has been carried by the upper platen. When large gears or other generally circular parts are to be quenched in such a machine, it is difficult to install the heavy expander cone and cylinder in view of their large size and weight. Further, the prior art design is inherently tall and requires considerable overhead clearance, especially when large parts are to be quenched therein. It is clear that the height of the press can be a hindrance by requiring the use of high ceiling rooms. Also, any related overhead crane equipment must be designed to avoid interfering with the space into which the press proceeds upwardly.